


Karaoke Night

by Mierke



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: Gen, Who even knows, background Zoey/Max, includes some lyrics, is this how karaoke bars work?, post-2.2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29334033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mierke/pseuds/Mierke
Summary: Mo drags Zoey and Max to karaoke. Zoey is not amused.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9
Collections: 1 Million Words' Weekend Challenge





	Karaoke Night

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by _My house caught fire_ for OMW's "Running Late" weekend challenge.  
> Written for the prompt _Late_ for the [100 Fandom challenge](https://100fandoms.dreamwidth.org/).

"Sorry I'm late. My house caught fire."

Zoey slid into a chair next to Max, who turned his gaze away from the stage and raised an eyebrow. Mo was nowhere to be found; with any luck, he was waiting to go up, and Zoey was just in time to catch his performance. 

"Your house caught fire, really?" Max asked as Zoey tried to catch her breath. "Maybe we should warn Mo."

"Okay, caught fire might have been a slight exaggeration," Zoey conceded before Max could get up from his chair and do just that. "But there were definite sparks in the microwave, so really, it was only a matter of time and I prevented a catastrophe by staying behind and fixing it. I saved Mo from coming home to a pile of ashes and dirt."

"Uh-huh." Max's eyebrow didn't go down. "You could have just, I don't know, unplugged the microwave."

"That would have done the trick, yes." Zoey let out a nervous giggle. "But... I didn't think of that. You know me, always going for the more difficult solution."

Max tapped the glass Zoey had been eyeing. "I got you a drink," he said. "And you can have it, but only when you tell me what's going on."

"I hate karaoke," Zoey said on a rush. "I hate singing, I hate getting up in front of people and embarrassing myself, and I never want anyone to hear me sing. Ever."

"You sing for me," Max said, and Zoey smiled at the memory.

"That was different," she said. "You're you, and that was romantic, and there weren't a hundred people drunk on alcohol and who knows what else around to comment on my performance."

They both heaved a sigh of relief as the girl who'd been butchering _I will survive_ finished her song. 

"I also haven't been to karaoke since, you know, I got my powers," she added, still feeling ridiculous as she used that word, but she hadn't been able to come up with a better one. "And I can't even imagine the headache it will be to differentiate heartsongs from actual songs."

"That is a good point," Max said. "You don't have to sing, though. We're here to support Mo, nothing more."

"You really think Mo will let us get away with just watching?" 

Max groaned and hid his face in his hands.

"Exactly."

They waited through another performance, this one much better than the previous one, and hollered when Mo showed on stage next.

"Good evening, everyone," he said, his flair already winning over half of the audience. "I won't be singing this one alone."

"I told you," Zoey hissed to Max, who looked about as deer in the headlight as she felt.

"Come on, Max, Zoey. Don't think I didn't see you come in late, young lady."

"The house caught fire!" Zoe yelled to the stage as she and Max made her way forward.

"It did what?" Mo looked at Max for an explanation, which, well, was fair.

"Her microwave was sparking again," Max said, and he didn't sound nearly as out breath or scared out of his mind as Zoey felt. That was so unfair.

"Oh Zoey," Mo said as they clambered upon the stage, his gaze somewhere between fondness and annoyance. "You really should come up with better excuses."

"But it really-" Zoey started to say, but Mo slapped a hand over her mouth to shut her up.

"Water under the bridge," he said, and he turned back to the guy who was manning the karaoke machine. "Hit it, boy."

Mo opened the song, and to Zoey's surprise she actually knew this one. Not that that helped.

"Lady Marmalade, really?" she mouthed to Max, who had just enough time to look back at her in shock, before they were supposed to join in. 

The song was a disaster from start to finish. But Zoey was laughing all the way through, and Mo was amazing. It had been a long time since Zoey had felt this carefree and had enjoyed something this much, just being out with her friends and being ridiculous. 

She was gasping for air as they sang the last note, her constitution not built for the made-up choreography they had laced through the song, but she was smiling as she leaned on Mo. 

"Thank you," she whispered, and he looked at her indulgently. This had been supposed to be his night, but maybe it had been hers too. 

She and Max wove their way back to their seats, though Mo stayed behind.

"If you'll allow me one more song," he said graciously, and the crowd hollered their approval.  
Zoey could have sworn the lights dimmed as Mo started to sing. 

_Can anybody hear me?  
Or am I talking to myself?_

Zoey could feel it straight in her bones, and when Mo was finished, she applauded louder than anyone else.

"I hadn't expected him to lay his soul bare like that," she shouted to Max, to be heard over the noise the other people were making. 

"What are you talking about?" Max asked in surprise. "You've heard him sing this a thousand times before. You used to complain about it when he woke you up at, like, 6 am."

"Wait," Zoey said as they sat back down, the energy in the crowd ebbing away as Mo left the stage. "What did you hear?"

" _Wake Me Up Before You Go Go_ ," Max said slowly, as if Zoey was particularly stupid, but then his eyes widened. "What did you hear?"

"I don't know," Zoey mused. "I didn't know it."

"Shocking," Max remarked with a smile, and Zoey kicked him in retaliation.

"It was haunting, though. It was about being lonely and about how the world had forgotten him and how he can't forge a connection with anyone."

"Let's not tell him that," Max said as he saw Mo winding his way through the crowd.

"Let's," Zoey agreed. She would have to talk to Mo about it at some point, but today was not the day. Tonight was for celebrating, and for trying to forget what had been bringing them down, even though it apparently wasn't working as well as she'd hoped.

"Remember," Max whispered, as Mo got closer. " _Wake Me Up Before You Go Go_."

Zoey let her head fall to the table with a heavy thud.

"I told you this was gonna be complicated."

**Author's Note:**

> Mo's heartsong is Astronaut by Simple Plan.


End file.
